Method for tailoring strategy messages from an expert system to enhance success with modifications to health behaviors

ABSTRACT

A system and method for assisting with the maintenance of healthy lifestyle habits by generating tailored strategy messages within an expert system and then pushing those messages to the corresponding individual users of the cellular phones or other portable devices. The system and method allows diet and exercise plans to be tailored to individual users based on their preferences and provides consistent and appropriate strategy messages designed to encourage and motivate users toward successfully maintaining healthy lifestyle habits. Users complete initial assessments which detail individual food and physical activity preferences. The system uses the assessments to generate individualized messages that are pushed to user devices through a system incorporating cellular technologies. Tailored messages are pushed from the computer based expert system to user devices at predetermined times each day.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/117,190 filed May 8, 2008, titled METHOD FOR TAILORING STRATEGYMESSAGES FROM AN EXPERT SYSTEM TO ENHANCE SUCCESS WITH MODIFICATIONS TOHEALTH BEHAVIORS, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,463,618, issued Jun. 11, 2013 anda continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/856,917filed Sep. 18, 2007, titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REWARDING USERS FORCHANGES IN HEALTH BEHAVIORS, which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a system and method for assisting withthe maintenance of healthy lifestyle habits. More particularly, thepresent invention is system and method for assisting with themaintenance of desirable diet, exercise, and/or other health behaviorsand habits through the sending of various tailored messages from anexpert system using at least one portable device coupled to a datanetwork.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many people are affected by a variety of health problems includingobesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol levelswhich can be linked to poor habits in diet, exercise, and the like.Although people are generally aware that controlling diet, exercise, andsimilar lifestyle habits is the easiest way to become or stay healthy,getting them to adopt and maintain these habits is a difficult task.Many people do not have access to information or to systems or methodsthat can effectively assist them in these challenging endeavors.

There are many well-known diet and exercise regimes. When using theseknown regimes, however, individuals must determine what to eat and whento eat as well as calculate the calories they have consumed (e.g., bydetermining the calorie count of all foods or adding points that aretied to the calorie counts of certain foods) and they must keep anexercise record and determine the caloric impact of their exercise ontheir overall regime. Another problem with current diet and exerciseregimes is that they restrict severely the types of food individuals canconsume or the types of activities in which they are guided toparticipate. This lack of variety causes individuals to becomefrustrated with their regimes and to give up before they haveexperienced their desired results.

There are a few known methods and systems for assisting individuals withthe maintenance of healthy lifestyle habits, but these methods andsystems are expensive and often inaccessible to most people. Forexample, a highly effective method for assisting individuals indeveloping and maintaining healthy lifestyle habits is found through theuse of coaching. Research has shown that individuals are more successfulin the difficult endeavor of changing their habits and maintaining new,healthier ones when they are coached throughout the process. Coachingkeeps individuals motivated, provides positive reinforcement, andintroduces a narrowly-tailored plan for each individual participant.However, obtaining a reliable human coach is difficult and oftenprohibitively expensive such that relatively few individuals areactually able to use one. In addition to purchasing the services of ahuman coach, it has been shown that the services of a personal chef, whois trained in preparing healthy meals, and/or those of a nutritionist,who is able to develop a personalized diet plan, are successful methodsfor an individual to be assisted in maintaining healthy lifestylehabits, but these methods are also expensive and thus inaccessible tomany.

In an attempt to make the services of coaches, nutritionists, personalchefs, and the like accessible to those who could not afford themotherwise, many books have been written and/or home videos produced thatfocus on disseminating the type of expert information these individualstypically offer their clients. Unfortunately, those who invest in thesebooks and/or videos are noticeably less likely to maintain the healthylifestyle habits they aim to encourage than those who invest in theactual expert services. The mass marketed materials are aimed at a wideaudience and cannot meet the needs of each individual purchaser. Thedifference that actual health and fitness experts can provide is theability to provide their clients with appropriate plans and strategymessages with modifications tailored to the individual thereby reducingor eliminating the various barriers to success.

In light of these foregoing problems with known systems and methods,there is a need for a generally affordable and accessible system andmethod that assists in the maintenance of healthy lifestyle habits byproviding individual users with a diet and exercise regime specificallytailored around their personal preferences so that they are notrestricted to the point that they become frustrated thus discontinuingtheir practice of the regime's healthy habits. Additionally, there is aneed for a system and method that assists individual users indetermining what foods they should be eating, when they should beeating, and/or in what activities they should be participating. Thesystem and method should account for an individual user's preferences,including preferences for meal preparation. Furthermore, the system andmethod should provide individual users with personalized guidance andstrategy similar to that which can be provided by health and fitnessexperts in order to maximize the probability that individuals willsuccessfully maintain healthy lifestyle habits.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIVE CONCEPT

The present invention is a system and method for assisting with themaintenance of healthy lifestyle habits by generating tailored strategymessages within an expert system and then pushing those messages to thecorresponding individual users. The system and method utilizes moderntechnologies, such as the cellular phone or other portable device, tofacilitate the pushing of the tailored messages from the system'scomputer-based expert system to the individual users.

The system and method allows diet and exercise plans to be tailored toindividual users based on their preferences and provides consistent andappropriate strategy messages designed to encourage and motivate userstoward successfully maintaining healthy lifestyle habits. Severalembodiments illustrate ways in which an individual user can utilizepersonalized instruction from a trained expert in the dieting field,without having to meet with them personally and without having to paythe prohibitively expensive fees that are typically associated withpersonalized instruction. Exemplary embodiments allow the individualuser to utilize portable technology, such as cell phones, handheldcomputing devices, and personal digital assistants (PDA), so that theuser has constant access to their personalized instruction.

In one embodiment, individual users complete initial assessments whichdetail each individual's food and physical activity preferences. Theseassessments can then be used to compile profiles for each individualthat are stored in a database. The system and method uses the profileinformation in the database to generate individualized messages that canthen be pushed to individual users through a system incorporatingcellular technologies. In one embodiment of the system, tailoredmessages are pushed from the computer based expert system to anindividual user's cell phone at predetermined times each day. In onesuch embodiment, a message generated by the computer-based expert systemprovides an individual user with a healthy suggestion for his or hernext meal based on the type of food he or she indicated to havepreferred when completing the initial assessment. In another embodimentof the system, a message generated by the computer-based expert systemprovides an individual user with a healthy suggestion of a physicalactivity that should be performed based on the type of physical activityhe or she indicated to have preferred in the initial assessment.

The system and method can be interactive and an individual user canrespond to suggestive messages they have received by either accepting orrejecting the suggestions with a reply message. In one embodiment, thecomputer-based expert system analyzes reply messages generated byindividual users. For example, if an individual user indicates a desireto reject a given suggestion in a reply message, the computer-basedexpert system detects that desire through analysis and generates a newmessage for the user that contains a different suggestion designed toreplace that which the user had previously rejected. Likewise, if anindividual user indicates in a reply message a desire to accept a givensuggestion, the computer-based expert system detects that desire throughanalysis of the reply.

In one embodiment, the system and method tracks the actions taken andthe progress made by individual users. For example, if an individualuser desires to lose weight the system monitors the food the individualconsumes and the physical activities the individual performs. The systemupdates the information at the database as a result of the monitoring.The updated information in the database helps to ensure that the systemsends messages that are appropriate for each individual user as theirhabits and/or preferences change. The system can additionally track anindividual's actual progress and generate messages praising users whenthey get closer to their goals. The system can also generate messagesintended to motivate individual users.

The system and method pushes tailored messages from a computer-basedexpert system to the portable or cellular devices of individual usersand receives responses to help the system's users find healthy food anddrinks that they like. Additionally, the system and method uses positivereinforcements and other messages to encourage and motivate individualusers to maintain the healthy lifestyle habits they desire. The presentinvention is both affordable and accessible because it is operated viaapplications to prevalent and relatively inexpensive moderntechnologies. The system and method addresses problems inherent in theprior art and makes the key to good health accessible in an original andnovel way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the physical structure of a system according to anexample embodiment;

FIGS. 2A, 2B1, 2B2, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G1, 2G2, 2H, 2I, 2J1, 2J2, 2K1,2K2, and 2L are screen shots for completing a user profile andspecifying preferences according to an example embodiment;

FIGS. 3A-3C are a flowchart illustrating daily phone contacts and weeklyphone contacts according to an example embodiment;

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate meal contact logic according to an exampleembodiment;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a flowchart of tailored challenge messagingaccording to an example embodiment; and

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a flowchart of tailored weight messaging accordingto an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One exemplary embodiment is a “smart system” designed to encourage andmotivate users towards successfully maintaining healthy lifestyle habitsby pushing tailored messages from a computer based expert system toindividual users via cellular technologies. The system incorporates thepersonal preferences of individual users in regard to diet, exercise,and other similar habits in conjunction with personal information suchas age, weight, gender, and desired results as well as behavioralchallenges in order to generate tailored messages to assist individualusers with the adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle habits.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the physical structure of the system.Each of the connections mentioned here permit data to flow in bothdirections. A laptop or desktop personal computer 100 is connected tothe server 120 through the internet 110. The user may connect to awebsite to create an account and enter personal information andpreferences for creating a profile. The server 120 is connected to oneor more databases 122, 124 comprising user data, nutrition provider data(nutritional data related to meals offered by a plurality of mealproviders), diet, and exercise data, message data, progress data,compliance data, restaurant, shopping, and entertainment establishmentdata, reward data, and other data as may be required to provide thefeatures and functionality of the present invention. The server 120 isconnected to communication networks 130 (comprising various datatransmitters and receivers) through the internet 110. The various datatransmitters and receivers of the communication networks 130 facilitatecommunications with the user's portable technology 140 which includescellular or mobile phones, personal digital assistants, or any otherportable device capable of sending and receiving communications throughthe communication networks 130 and displaying them for a user. An expertsystem at the server uses the individual's account information,including information about the individual's mobile phone, to tailor andsend to the individual messages to reinforce and motivate healthyhabits.

In an example embodiment, the expert system is constructed using theJ2EE programming language in conjunction with a SQL based database (likeMicrosoft SQL Server or Oracle DB). AJAX, Active X, and Java componentsmay also be used to handle various aspects of the system. The mobilecomponent of the overall system is constructed using the J2MEprogramming language sending wireless requests to the expert system overcommon carrier communication protocols. Communication between the mobilecomponent and the expert system is constructed using XML languagestructures.

Referring to FIGS. 2A-2L, screen shots for completing a user profile,specifying diet and exercise preferences, and identifying healthbehavioral challenges in an enrollment process according to an exampleembodiment are shown. The user provides contact and backgroundinformation, specifies a weight goal, specifies preferences related todiet and exercise, and identifies personal behavioral challenges. Theuser's profile data and specified goal and diet and exercise preferencesare considered by the expert system to tailor messages intended toreinforce and motivate behaviors that are important in helping the userreach the specified goal. The user accesses a website to navigatethrough the screens and provide data and information that allows thesystem to build a profile for the user comprising diet and exercisepreferences as well as behavioral challenges.

Referring to FIG. 2A, a screen for specifying physical characteristicsand a weight goal is shown. The user specifies a sex, age, weight, andheight and a goal weight 200. This information is saved in the user'sprofile and used to determine the user's progress toward the goal. Theexpert system generates tailored messages that help the user to progresstoward the specified goal.

Referring to FIG. 2B1, an account screen for an example embodiment isshown. First, the user specifies a username, password, and email addressto create an account 202. Next, the user provides contact information204. Referring to FIG. 2B2, the user also provides information about hisor her mobile phone or other portable device so that messages from theexpert system can be pushed to the portable device 206.

Referring to FIG. 2C, a diet plan screen for an example embodiment isshown. The user specifies the type of diet plan he or she would like tofollow. In an example embodiment, the user may select from one of threediet plans 208. A first plan is a balanced plan which emphasizes a dietof reduced calories as well as reduced fat and sugar. A second plan is ahealthy carbohydrate plan that emphasizes a diet of lean meats, fish,dairy, and nuts. A third plan is a Mediterranean plan that emphasizes adiet of fish, grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts.

Referring to FIG. 2D, a food preference screen for an example embodimentis shown. The user selects a food category and identifies the foods ineach category that he or she does not like or wants to avoid 210. In anexample embodiment, the categories include: 1) meats, poultry, and fish;2) beans, nuts, and seeds; 3) grains and soy products; 4) fruit; 5)vegetables; 6) dairy; and 7) condiments and dressings. Within eachcategory, the user can select from a list the foods he or she does notwant to eat. Alternatively, an entire category of food can be selected.Finally, if the user does not find a particular food on any list withina category, the specific food can be entered in a text box 212. As theuser types, choices matching the entered text are presented. Foodsidentified in the text boxes as well as foods selected from the categorylists are not included in any menu or meal suggestions that are providedto the user.

Referring to FIG. 2E, a meal times screen according to an exampleembodiment is shown. The user specifies a time of day for eatingbreakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as a snack 214. The user specifiestwo sets of meal times, one for weekdays and one for weekends. Referringto FIG. 2F, a meal preparation preference screen according to an exampleembodiment is shown. On this screen, the user specifies preferencesrelated to meal preparation options 216. Using a drag and drop feature,the user specifies meal preparation preferences for breakfast, lunch,and dinner on weekdays and weekends 218. In an example embodiment, themeal preparation options are: 1) quick and easy (fewer than 10 minutesto prepare); 2) cook at home (more than 10 minutes to prepare); 3)frozen or ready to eat; 4) fast food; or 5) order from restaurant. Themeal preparation preferences provide additional data for the expertsystem to consider when generating messages to the user related to mealoptions.

Referring to FIG. 2G1, a behavior challenges screen according to anexample embodiment is shown. The screen presents common challenges to ahealthy lifestyle 220 and allows the user to select the ones that areapplicable. The user is also asked to identify the challenge he or shewould like to overcome first (a priority challenge) 222. Referring toFIG. 2G2, the screen presents a list of strategies for overcoming commonchallenges 224. The user is asked to select a strategy that isappropriate for the user's lifestyle. The user's selections related toapplicable challenges, a priority challenge, and a challenge strategyare considered by the expert system in generating tailored messages.

Referring to FIG. 2H, an activity screen according to an exampleembodiment is shown. The user provides information about his or hercurrent activity level 226 and exercise frequency 228. In addition, theuser indicates whether he or she smokes 230. The user's selectionsrelated to current activity level, exercise frequency, and smoking areconsidered by the expert system in generating tailored messages.Referring to FIG. 2I, a workout screen according to an exampleembodiment is shown. Using a drag and drop feature, the user identifiespreferred physical activities 232 and specifies times for performing thephysical activities on a weekly basis 234. The preferences related tophysical activities and times are considered by the expert system ingenerating tailored messages.

Referring to FIG. 2J1, a profile overview screen according to an exampleembodiment is shown. The screen presents information regarding the dataand preferences specified by the user while completing the profile dataentry screens. A nutrition section comprises the user's selectionsrelated to a diet plan and specific food preferences 236 as well as mealpreparation preferences 238. Referring to FIG. 2J2, a weight sectioncomprises the user's personal data related to current weight and bodymass index as well as goal weight and proposed rate of weight loss perweek 240. Referring to FIG. 2J1, a fitness section comprises the user'sselections related to physical activity preferences 242. Referring toFIG. 2J2, a behavior section comprises information about the user'spriority challenge and preferred strategy from overcoming the challengeshe or she specified previously 244.

Referring to FIG. 2K1, a daily plan screen according to an exampleembodiment is shown. The daily plan screen presents a complete scheduleof activities and meal suggestions based on the personal data andpreferences specified by the user previously 246. In the exampleschedule, the user takes a weight reading at 7:00 AM, eats the suggestedbreakfast at 7:30 AM, completes the suggested activity at 8:00 AM, andeats the suggested lunch and dinner at the specified times. Referring toFIG. 2K2, the daily plan screen also presents food substitutionsuggestions in the event the user does not want to follow the initialmeal suggestion 248. The user can select any ingredient in the specifiedmeal suggestion and select a substitution. The ability to substituteingredients in a specified meal allows the user change the meal onlyslightly or to change the entire meal to meet his or her preferences atmealtime. Referring to FIG. 2L, a diet plan screen according to anexample embodiment is shown. At this screen, the user can review theweekly meal suggestions 252 and complete any substitutions prior toreceiving the meal suggestions on at the mobile phone or other portabledevice.

FIGS. 3A-3C are a flow chart illustrating daily phone contacts andweekly phone contacts according to an example embodiment. Referring toFIGS. 3A and 3B, a variety of tailored daily messages 900 through 920are sent daily to an individual user. The tailored messages 900 through920 are pushed from the computer based expert system to an individualuser's cell phone. Once a tailored daily message 900 through 920 isreceived by an individual user, the individual user is presented with avariety of responses 1010 through 1052. The individual user is able toselect one of a variety of responses 1010 through 1052 and send theselected response on to the computer based expert system. The computerbased expert system detects the response sent by the individual user andresponds with one of a variety of reply messages 2010 through 2052.

In an exemplary embodiment of the system and method daily messages 900through 920 in five categories are sent from the computer based expertsystem to the cellular communications device of an individual user.These daily messages 900 through 920 include a plurality of “MealWake-up” messages 900, one or more “Fitness Wake-up” messages 905, a“Goal Reminder/Tip of the Day Wake-up” message 910, a “Strategy ReminderWake-up” message, and a “Snack Tally” message 920. An individual userspecifies times for eating meals and exercising. The daily tailoredmessages 900 through 920 are programmed to arrive at the cellularcommunications device within a certain time range based on the user'sspecified times for various activities.

To understand how the tailored messages of the system and method areused to assist an individual user in the maintenance of healthylifestyle habits consider a “Meal Wake-up” message 900. An individualuser receives a meal wake-up message 900 any time from 15 to 45 minutesbefore the user's preferred time for each daily meal. Once a mealwake-up message 900 is received by an individual user, the individualuser is presented with a variety of responses 1010 through 1016. Theindividual user may respond with an “OK” response 1010, a “View Meal”response 1012, a “Go to MyDay” response 1014, or a “Get Coupon” response1016. Fewer or more response options may be provided based on theactivity for which the message is sent. Depending on which one of avariety of responses 1010 through 1016 an individual user selects, thecomputer based expert system responds by sending one of a variety ofreply messages 2010 through 2016 to the individual user's cellularcommunications device. The computer based expert system may send an“Exit Application” reply 2010 (not seen by the user), a “Show Meal”reply 2012, a “Show MyDay” reply 2014, or a “Show Coupon” reply. Forexample, if an individual user selects a “View Meal” response 1012 afterviewing his or her meal wake-up message 900, the computer based expertsystem detects this selection and replies with a “Show Meal” response2012.

The computer based expert system accesses a database that contains thepersonal preference data of individual users and uses the personalpreference data to formulate tailored messages which are then pushed onto the corresponding individual users. For example, the database mightcontain information concerning the meals an individual user prefers toeat and more specifically what types of ingredients the individual wouldlike to be included in his or her diet. Additionally, the personalpreference information within the database could include the types ofphysical activity in which an individual user enjoys participating. Thesystem and method can be configured such that after an individual userreceives a “meal wake-up” message 900 and responds with a “View My Meal”response 1012, the computer based expert system replies with a “ShowMeal” reply 2012 containing a meal suggestion incorporating the types offood the individual user has previously indicated, through his or herpersonal preference data, that he or she prefers.

Similarly, the system and method can be configured such that after anindividual user receives a “fitness wake-up” message 905 and respondswith a “Go to MyDay” response 1022, the computer based expert systemreplies with a “Show MyDay” reply 2022 containing a physical activitysuggestion incorporating the types of activities the individual user haspreviously indicated, through his or her personal preference data, thathe or she prefers. In one exemplary embodiment of the system and methodan individual user can incorporate physical fitness information into hisor her personal information stored within the database of a computerbased expert system. This ensures that when the individual user receivesa “Show MyDay” reply 2022 it contains a suggestion for the individualuser to participate in a preferred physical activity.

Referring to FIG. 3C, in addition to daily phone contacts, weekly phonecontacts 3000 may be sent to individual users. An example weekly phonecontact 3000 is a weigh-in wake-up message as shown in FIG. 3C. It couldalso be a grocery shopping wake-up message that directs the user topurchase food for the week or a motivational wake-up message thatencourages the user to continue healthy habits. As shown in FIG. 3, aweekly phone contact 3000 could be followed by a variety of userresponses 3010 through 3016. When an individual user selects a response3010 through 3016, the computer based expert system detects whichresponse was selected and responds with one of a variety of replymessages 4010 through 4014. The weekly phone contact 3000 weigh-inwake-up message reminds the user to get weighed and then respond to themessage with an “Enter Weight” response 4016. The computer based expertsystem then generates a “Weight Graph” reply message 4018 containing agraph showing the individual user's weight loss progress.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate meal contact logic according to an exampleembodiment. Referring to FIG. 4A, the user's specified preferences 5000and enrollment weight 5002 filter into menu generation. The user'sspecified preferences 5000 (provided during enrollment) include anindividual user's diet plan, food preferences, meal times, mealpreparation selections, etc. The starting or enrollment weight 5002 isthe weight entered by the user at enrollment when he or she startingusing the system and method. Once the computer based expert system hasgenerated menus for an individual user according to preferences, aweekly menu message 5004 is pushed to the user. Because of the size ofthe message, the weekly menu message is emailed from the computer basedexpert system to the individual user. It could also be delivered via atext message to an individual user's cell phone, etc. An individual usermay also receive a weekly weight prompt message 5006 that reports theweight change since enrollment.

As shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the meal contact logic of the system andmethod uses daily phone contacts 5010 through 5016 that are sent to anindividual user before he or she eats a meal. The daily phone contacts5010 through 5016 are sent approximately thirty minutes before ascheduled meal. The daily contact message 5010, 5012 asks the user toindicate whether he or she is going to eat the suggested meal (e.g.,from an earlier received weekly menu message). The responses include a“Yes” response 5020, 5030 indicating the user plans to eat the suggestedmeal, a “No change meal” response 5022, 5032 indicating the user wouldlike an entirely different meal, or a “No change item” response 5024,5034 indicating the user would like to substitute one or more items inthe suggested meal. If the user selects either “no” response 5022, 5024,5030, 5032, the expert system accesses a database of meal and menusubstitutions and suggests either an entirely new meal or one or morefood substitutions. The new suggestions conform to the user's foodpreferences as well as dietary needs for meeting the target goal. If theuser selects yes 5020, 5030, changes a meal 5022, 5032, or changes anitem 5024, 5034, a reminder of the goal is sent 5050, 5052, 5080.

The daily phone contacts 5010 through 5016 can be used to remind anindividual user what foods he or she needs to be eating to reach thedesired goal. In one embodiment, the computer based expert system hasaccess to data concerning the location of an individual user (e.g.,using a GPS feature on the user's mobile phone) and uses thatinformation in generating appropriate meal daily phone contacts 5010through 5016. For example, the computer based expert system may havedata indicating an individual user works in downtown Chicago Mondaythrough Thursday but works from home on Fridays. If the user has adinner meal preparation preference for restaurant (ordered) food, onMondays through Thursdays, the system generates daily phone contacts5014 containing meal suggestions incorporating restaurants located nearthe user's office in downtown Chicago and similarly, on Fridays thesystem generates daily phone contacts 5014 with meal suggestionsincorporating restaurants located near the user's home.

As shown in FIG. 4C a weight loss support message 6000 may be sent fromthe computer based expert system to an individual user. The message issent twice a week, ninety minutes before dinner. A weight loss supportmessage may remind the user of the week's progress toward the goal,provide the user with tips on what he or she might do to increase thelikelihood of reaching the goal, etc.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a flowchart for tailored challenge messagingaccording to an example embodiment. After an individual user has beenprompted to participate in a particular activity, the computer basedexpert system generates and sends a gauging message 7000. The gaugingmessage 7000 asks the user to rate his or her experiencing in reaching agoal (e.g., 1=did it, 3=couldn't do it). The user response to a gaugingmessage 7000 triggers a check for prior history function 7010 within thecomputer based expert system and causes it to analyze the user's latestresponse in comparison to previously entered responses in order togenerate a variety of strategy suggestions 7020. The challengesuggestions range from telling the user to continue his or her efforts,offering a new strategy to an individual user who seems to be slipping,or identifying a new challenge. Follow up messages may be sent anddiffer based on whether the user is planning to continue working towardthe current goal or to start working on a new strategy or challenge.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a flowchart of tailored weight messaging accordingto an example embodiment. Referring to 6B, tailored messages may begenerated for a user in response to the individual's entered weight data8000. Once an individual user has entered weight data, the computerbased expert system performs a weight change check 8002 and checks theindividual's current weight against previously entered weight values. Ifa weight change check 8002 indicates that a user has lost or gained morethan a specified number of pounds (e.g., 10), the computer based expertsystem generates a message 8004 indicating that there may have been adata entry error and prompts the user to check the entered weight value.The user reenters the weight value and if the weight change check 8006indicates a weight loss or gain greater than the specified number ofpounds a second time, it flags the entry and generates a report 8008.

If a weight change check 8002 or 8006 indicates a weight loss or gain ofless than 10 pounds, the computer based expert system analyzes theindividual user's current weight status in relation to the goal. If theuser has lost weight, the computer based expert system performs amilestone determination 8020. For example, the computer based expertsystem may maintain four milestone values 8022 at 25%, 50%, 75%, and100% of an individual user's goal and when the user's weight changecheck 8002 or 8006 indicates that one of the milestone values 8022 hasbeen reached, a corresponding motivational message 8026 is sent to theuser. If an individual has lost weight, but the weight loss does notresult in the user reaching a milestone value 8022, a congratulatorymessage 8024 is sent to the user.

If a weight gain check 8002 or 8006 indicates a user has not lost orgained weight 8012, the computer based expert system can generate aconsolation message 8040 reminding the user that plateaus are normal. Ifa weight gain check 8002 or 8006 indicates an individual user has gainedweight 8014, the computer based expert system determines how manyweigh-ins have indicated a weight gain for the individual user andgenerates a corresponding strategy message 8030 through 8034 to help theindividual get back on track to reaching the goal weight.

Any embodiment may include any of the optional or preferred features ofthe other embodiments. The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed arenot intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of theinvention. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in orderto explain the principles so that others skilled in the art may practicethe invention. Having shown and described exemplary embodiments, thoseskilled in the art will realize that many variations and modificationsmay be made to affect the described invention. Many of those variationsand modifications will provide the same result and fall within thespirit of the claimed invention. It is the intention, therefore, tolimit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computerized system for personalizing andsending to portable device users tailored messages to promotemodifications to dietary health behaviors, comprising: a firstcomputerized database configured to store personal and diet preferencedata for a plurality of portable device users: (i) said personal datacomprising contact data for sending messages to portable devices of saidportable device users; and (ii) said diet preference data comprising atleast one preferred meal time of day; a second computerized databaseconfigured to store dietary and nutritional data for a plurality offoods and recipes; a server executing programming instructions for: (a)analyzing diet preference data from said first computerized database forsaid plurality of users; (b) analyzing dietary and nutritional data fromsaid second computerized database; (c) generating a tailored message foreach of said plurality of users wherein said tailored message comprises:(i) a meal suggestion based on said analysis of diet preference data anddietary and nutritional data; and (ii) an acceptance option for saidmeal suggestion; (d) defining a time interval consisting of a pluralityof minutes for scheduling message delivery times; (e) schedulingpre-determined times for delivering said tailored messages to saidportable devices wherein said pre-determined times are within said timeinterval in advance of said preferred meal time of day specified by eachof said plurality of users; (f) sending from said server said tailoredmessages to said portable devices for delivery at said pre-determinedtimes; and (g) receiving at said server from said portable devicesresponses to said acceptance option.
 2. The computerized system of claim1, wherein said portable devices of said plurality of portable deviceusers are cellular telephones.
 3. The computerized system of claim 1,wherein said time interval is between 15 to 45 minutes.
 4. Thecomputerized system of claim 1, wherein said acceptance option isselected from the group consisting of a response indicating acceptanceof said meal suggestion and a response rejecting said meal suggestion.5. The computerized system of claim 4, wherein said server furthergenerates tailored messages comprising substitute meal suggestions forusers rejecting said meal suggestions.
 6. The computerized system ofclaim 5, wherein said substitute meal suggestion is a suggestion forsubstituting a single food item in said meal suggestion.
 7. Thecomputerized system of claim 1, wherein said dietary preference datacomprises meal preparation preferences selected from the groupconsisting of meals prepared in under 10 minutes, meals prepared in over10 minutes, frozen and ready to eat meals, fast food meals, and cookedto order meals.
 8. The computerized system of claim 1 furthercomprising: a third computerized database configured to store exercisedata, said exercise data including data regarding calories burned foreach of a plurality of exercises; and exercise preference data for saidplurality of users, said exercise preference data comprising physicalactivity preferences and exercise time of day preferences for performingsaid physical activity.
 9. The computerized system of claim 8, whereinsaid server analyzes said exercise preference data for said plurality ofusers and generates a tailored exercise message for each of said userscomprising a physical activity suggestion based on said exercisepreference data and said exercise data, said tailored exercise messagesent for delivery to said portable devices at pre-determined timeswithin said time interval in advance of said exercise time of daypreferences specified by each of said plurality of portable deviceusers.
 10. The computerized system of claim 1 wherein said servergenerates a personal strategy message for each of said users and saidserver sends said personal strategy messages for delivery to saidportable devices, each of said personal strategy messages related toprogress toward meeting a specified health behavior challenge.
 11. Acomputerized method for personalizing messages from an expert system tomodify health behavior comprising: (a) receiving at a server from a userpersonal and preference data: (i) said personal data comprising contactinformation for a portable device; and (ii) said preference datacomprising dietary and exercise preferences including a preferred timeof day for completing activities related to said diet and exercisepreferences; (b) generating at said server for said user a tailoredmessage comprising: (i) an activity to be performed by said userconsistent with said dietary and exercise preferences; and (ii) anacceptance option for said activity; (c) determining at said server saiduser's preferred time of day for starting said activity; (d) defining atsaid server a time interval consisting of a plurality of minutes forscheduling message delivery times; (e) scheduling at said server apre-determined time to deliver said tailored message to said portabledevice wherein said pre-determined time is within said time interval inadvance of said user's preferred time of day; (f) sending said tailoredmessage from said server to said portable device at said pre-determinedtime; and (g) receiving at said server from said portable device aresponse to said acceptance option.
 12. The computerized method of claim11 wherein generating at said server a tailored message for an activitycomprises generating a tailored message for eating a meal.
 13. Thecomputerized method of claim 12 wherein sending said tailored messagefrom said server to said portable device at a pre-determined time withinsaid time interval comprises sending said tailored message to saidportable device 15 minutes before said user's preferred time for eatingsaid meal.
 14. The computerized method of claim 12 wherein generating atsaid server a tailored message for eating a meal comprises generating atailored message with a meal suggestion consistent with said user'sdietary preferences.
 15. The computerized method of claim 14 whereinreceiving at said server from said user an acceptance response to saidmeal suggestion comprises a rejection of said meal suggestion.
 16. Thecomputerized method of claim 15 further comprising sending from saidserver to said portable device for said user a substitute mealsuggestion consistent with said user's dietary preferences.
 17. Thecomputerized method of claim 12 wherein sending said tailored messagefrom said server to said portable device at a pre-determined time withinsaid time interval comprises sending said tailored message to saidportable device 15 minutes before said user's preferred time forstarting said physical activity.
 18. The computerized method of claim 11wherein generating at said server a tailored message related to anactivity comprises generating a tailored message for performing aphysical activity.
 19. The computerized method of claim 11 furthercomprising receiving at said server from said user data for a behavioralchallenge.
 20. The computerized method of claim 19 further comprisingsending from said server to said portable device for said user atailored message related to said behavioral challenge.
 21. Acomputerized method for personalizing messages from an expert system tomodify health behavior comprising: (a) receiving at a server from auser: (i) personal data comprising contact information for a portabledevice; and (ii) preference data comprising health activity preferences;(iii) a health goal; (iv) selection of a health behavior challenge; (v)selection of a challenge strategy; (b) generating at said server andtransmitting from said server to said portable device a tailoredactivity message comprising a health activity to be performed by saiduser consistent with: (i) said health activity preferences; and (ii)said health goal; (c) generating at said server and transmitting fromsaid server to said portable device a tailored gauging messagecomprising a request to rate performance of said health activity; (d)receiving at said server said user response to said gauging message; (e)generating at said server and transmitting from said server to saidportable device a tailored strategy suggestion message consistent with:(i) said user selected health behavior challenge; and (ii) said userselected challenge strategy.
 22. The computerized method of claim 21wherein generating at said server and transmitting from said server tosaid portable device a tailored strategy suggestion message comprisesgenerating a message selected from the group consisting of: (i) advisingsaid user to continue current efforts; (ii) offering to said user a newstrategy; and (iii) identifying for said user a new challenge.
 23. Thecomputerized method of claim 22 further comprising: (f) receiving atsaid server said user response to said tailored strategy suggestionmessage; and (g) generating at said server and transmitting from saidserver to said portable device at least one additional messageresponsive to said user response to said tailored strategy suggestionmessage.
 24. The computerized method of claim 21 wherein generating atsaid server and transmitting from said server to said portable device atailored strategy suggestion message comprises analyzing said user'slatest response in comparison to previously entered responses.
 25. Thecomputerized method of claim 21 wherein said health activity is selectedfrom the group consisting of an eating activity and an exerciseactivity.